Facts about recycling

Facts related to recycling are as follow :

1. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4000 kilowatt hours of electricity.  This is enough energy to power the average American home for 5 months.
2. Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74 percent of the energyused to make them.
3. Manufacturing recycled paper uses 60 percent of the energy needed to make paper from new materials.
4. Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74 percent of the energyused to make them.
5. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 100 watt light bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, and a TV for 2 hours.
6. Approximately 88 percent of the energy is saved when plastic is made from plastic rather than from the raw materials of gas and oil.
7. Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees.If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year.
8. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year. Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator.
9. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
10. On average, each one of us produces 4.4 pounds of solid waste each day. This adds up to almost a ton of trash per person, per year.

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Tips For Controlling Pollution, Information Sheet :

1) Keep garbage, pest and animal wastes, and yard wastes out of roadside ditches, storm drains and waterways. Never dump debris of any type into a creek!
2) Never dispose of household wastes such as paint thinner, motor oil, or pesticides down household drains or stormwater drains. Storm drains often empty directly into the nearest waterbody.
3) Follow label instructions when using fertilizers and pesticides. Homeowners who overapply waste money, may damage plants or animals they value, can pollute air, water and soil and may encourage pesticide-resistance in pest species.
4) If you have a septic tank, have it pumped about every three years on average.
5) Avoid hosing down paved surfaces and washing your car in the driveway or street. Even "biodegradable" soaps may be toxic to fish and wildlife.
6) Avoid diverting or damming the creek. Water diversions and dams reduce water flow, often increase water temperature and affect vegetation and wildlife.
7) Pave only where necessary. It increases runoff during storms and peak flows, resulting in flooding and erosion. Encourage water to soak in and recharge soil moisture.
8) If you have livestock, exclude them from entering drainage ditches, creeks and streams or manage them carefully to avoid overgrazing or trampling problems.
9) If you have livestock, collect and compost or dispose of the waste from corraled animals to prevent runoff into surface or ground water supplies.
10) Also control pet access to creeks and riparian vegetation. Dog and cat feces add excessive nutrients and bacterial pollution to water, which decreases water quality, causes unpleasant odors, and can also cause human health problems. Cats and dogs can be aggressive wildlife predators.
11) Maintain a buffer of natural vegetation between pastures or paddocks and creeks or ponds.
12) Stabilize erosion-prone areas of your property and control erosion by planting ground covers or native vegetation. The use of native or adapted vegetation reduces the cost of yard maintenance, requiring less water and fewer chemical fertilizers.
13) Check your rain gutters and other pipes to see where they drain. Make sure they do not carry water directly into the creek.
14) Compost household organic wastes if you have the space on your property, or begin a community compost program. By producing "garden gold," you’ll save money and reduce the use of fertilizers that can leach into streams, ponds and ground water.
15) Learn about your local watershed and how it is interconnected with your immediate neighbors, the surrounding valleys, and ultimately the outside world.
16) Minimize tillage in agriculture and garden areas and leave crop and garden residue in place or till it under to add organic matter and soil tilth.

Say yes to RECYCLING

Letter to the Editor

POLLUTION IN PAKISTAN

We are always been taught about pollution. We never think of pollution in Pakistan seriously. Pollution meaning spoiling the purity of air, water and land and we the citizen are doing that. Today it’s the most alarming global problem. It is a serious threat to marine, animal and of course human lives. The various factors, which are responsible for pollution in our country is of course our irresponsibility on the top. The rapid increase in population, speedy industrialization and urbanization resulting maximum destruction of natural resources.  The cause of pollution are dust which we are well aware of , smoke which we all experience every day, sewerage which we are facing from ages, and garbage problem due to failure in the management of our municipal body. Not only is this the use of plastic bags very common in our country. These bags are one of the major contributors to pollution if not disposed of properly. We have no proper disposal of waste in Pakistan so these bags should be banned as soon as possible to reduce pollution. The use of environment-friendly bags is an important step towards saving our environment. Recycle bags are convenient and come in a variety of sizes. It is our duty as responsible citizens of the country and the planet to reduce plastic bags and reuse environment-friendly bags. It is the duty of every citizen to spread awareness and educate people around us not to use this toxic material. If a country like Bangladesh can impose a ban, why not Pakistan?

Let us save our country. Let us take a step to save Pakistan from every possible hazard/problem/issues. We can save our country from this pollution, we can save our country from pollution borne diseases, and we can save lives of plants, animals or human. Let us practice and educate how to take steps for a better, healthy, pollution free life.

Live and let live.

Recycle the best way to beat pollution!!!!

Save our fragile planet Earth.....

Letter to the Editor

Go Green

Environmental Pollution Effects on Humans

We know that pollution causes not only physical disabilities but also psychological and behavioral disorders in people.

We are discussing the effects of air pollution and specific air pollutants in more detail in our Air Pollution Effects article.

The following pollution effects on humans have been reported:

a) Air Pollution Effects:

1) Reduced lung functioning

2) Irritation of eyes, nose, mouth and throat

3) Asthma attacks

4) Respiratory symptoms such as coughing and wheezing

5) Increased respiratory disease such as bronchitis

6) Reduced energy levels

7) Headaches and dizziness

8) Disruption of endocrine, reproductive and immune systems

9) Neurobehavioral disorders

10) Cardiovascular problems

11) Cancer

12) Premature death

b) Water Pollution Effects:

Waterborne diseases caused by polluted drinking water:

1) Typhoid

2) Amoebiasis

3) Giardiasis

4) Ascariasis

5) Hookworm

Waterborne diseases caused by polluted beach water:

1) Rashes, ear ache, pink eye

2) Respiratory infections

3) Hepatitis, encephalitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach aches

Conditions related to water polluted by chemicals (such as pesticides, hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals etc):

1) Cancer, incl. prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

2) Hormonal problems that can disrupt reproductive and developmental processes

3) Damage to the nervous system

4) Liver and kidney damage

5) Damage to the DNA
6) Exposure to mercury (heavy metal):
In the womb: may cause neurological problems including slower reflexes, learning deficits, delayed or incomplete mental development, autism and brain damage
In adults: Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and even death

Other notes:

1) Water pollution may also result from interactions between water and contaminated soil, as well as from deposition of air contaminants (such as acid rain)

2) Damage to people may be caused by fish foods coming from polluted water (a well known example is high mercury levels in fish)

3) Damage to people may be caused by vegetable crops grown / washed with polluted water (author’s own conclusion)

c) Soil Pollution Effects:

1) Lead in soil is especially hazardous for young children causing developmental damage to the brain

2) Mercury can increase the risk of kidney damage; cyclodienes can lead to liver toxicity

3) Causes neuromuscular blockage as well as depression of the central nervous system

4) Also causes headaches, nausea, fatigue, eye irritation and skin rash

Other notes:

1) Contact with contaminated soil may be direct (from using parks, schools etc) or indirect (by inhaling soil contaminants which have vaporized)

2) Soil pollution may also result from secondary contamination of water supplies and from deposition of air contaminants (for example, via acid rain)

3) Contamination of crops grown in polluted soil brings up problems with food security

4) Since it is closely linked to water pollution, many effects of soil contamination appear to be similar to the ones caused by water contamination....

Effects of Pollution

a) Effects of Pollution on Animals -Air Pollution:

1) Acid rain (formed in the air) destroys fish life in lakes and streams

2) Excessive ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun through the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere which is eroded by some air pollutants, may cause skin cancer in wildlife

3) Ozone in the lower atmosphere may damage lung tissues of animals

b) Effects of Pollution on Animals - Water Pollution:

1) Nutrient pollution (nitrogen, phosphates etc) causes overgrowth of toxic algae eaten by other aquatic animals, and may cause death; nutrient pollution can also cause outbreaks of fish diseases

2) Chemical contamination can cause declines in frog biodiversity and tadpole mass

3) Oil pollution (as part of chemical contamination) can negatively affect development of marine organisms, increase susceptibility to disease and affect reproductive processes; can also cause gastrointestinal irritation, liver and kidney damage, and damage to the nervous system

4) Mercury in water can cause abnormal behavior, slower growth and development, reduced reproduction, and death

5) Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may cause declines, deformities and death of fish life

6) Too much sodium chloride (ordinary salt) in water may kill animals

Other notes:

We also assume that some higher forms of non-aquatic animals may have similar effects from water pollution as those experienced by humans, as described above

c) Effects of Pollution on Animals - Soil Pollution :

1) Can alter metabolism of microorganisms and arthropods in a given soil environment; this may destroy some layers of the primary food chain, and thus have a negative effect on predator animal species

2) Small life forms may consume harmful chemicals which may then be passed up the food chain to larger animals; this may lead to increased mortality rates and even animal extinction

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